Dell PE T105 Feedback
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Hi all,
This is a feedback about Dell PowerEdge T105.
I have a lot of them and, unfortunately, pfSense v1.2 don't even boot on it !
A lot of various problems like this one, for example : http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,8589.0.html
After reading the interesting post of David_W ( http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,9543.msg54134.html#msg54134 ), i tried successfully the pfSense versions compiled with FreeBSD 6.3 available here : http://cvs.pfsense.org/~sullrich/testing_images/6/FreeBSD_RELENG_6_3/pfSense_RELENG_1_2/
But, there still remains a problem : the onboard nic (chip BROADCOM 5722) that isn't recognized…
I found this patch ( http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=119779 ) but i prefer let the developers do their work than trying myself this ;D !
However, the other testing images ( http://cvs.pfsense.org/~sullrich/testing_images/7/RELENG_1_2/ ) didn't work for me (the boot part seems broken but haven't tried deeply).
But i can pleasantly confirm that pfSense v1.2.1 beta versions perfectly recognized the BROADCOM 5722 chip (at least since 20080729 releases) ;D !
Besides, David_W suggests this nic model for those wanting pci-e nic : http://www.intel.com/products/server/adapters/pro1000pt-dualport/pro1000pt-dualport-overview.htm (But any validation of proper functioning).
Thank you very much to David_W for all his suggests/advices ;) !
Sincerely,
XZed
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Thanks to XZed for summarising his experience with these machines.
There was a lot of traffic about these machines on the FreeBSD lists a while back. For those that don't know, the T105 is an inexpensive Opteron based tower server - well worth a look if you want a fairly straightforward machine and the likes of an ALIX isn't enough for some reason. If you want a rack mount server, consider the (somewhat similar, though Intel based) R200 - which is the hardware I am using for my production pfSense box..
Unfortunately the patch (see FreeBSD PR kern/119779) to recognise the T105's built in Broadcom NIC missed out on being included in FreeBSD 6.3-RELEASE and 7.0-RELEASE. I recommended XZed to try 1.2.1-BETA, and ask the developers to include this patch if the NIC wasn't recognised - but it seems that there was no need as the patch had already been included.
The card recommendation is the usual one if you do need an extra PCI-E NIC - go for an Intel server adapter. In this case, however, it's not needed.
If you can get away with a single NIC (for example, if you can make use of 802.1q VLANs for your various networks), the T105 can be an inexpensive pfSense box suitable for many applications.
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Just one question : R200 is fully recognized by "classic" pfSense v1.2 ?
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Just one question : R200 is fully recognized by "classic" pfSense v1.2 ?
No, it requires either the 6.3 based 1.2 or 1.2.1. At this point I wouldn't recommend anything other than 1.2.1 on those.
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OK thank you very much !
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Can I just add that I have R200's (a carp pair) that installed 1.2 RC fine on "non raid" R200's - ANy particular reason why I should move our production 1.2 to 1.2.1 yet?
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Can I just add that I have R200's (a carp pair) that installed 1.2 RC fine on "non raid" R200's
Interesting..
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If you have a R200 that's running fine on 1.2, I would leave it on 1.2. I would upgrade RC to 1.2-release though. I haven't previously heard of any R200s that run 1.2, must be the RAID that only works in newer FreeBSD versions.